Page 44

Gavin

The sky market stretched like a sunken valley at the edge of town, nestled into the island’s lowest point. Clouds drifted thick around our ankles, concealing our boots in the mist. Awning-covered stalls carved through the base of a mountain, and some shops had even been built into its face.

This island was half wonder, half trap. Almost everyone here was escaping something. A warm, remote climate to hide from life, and often, crime. Beauty reigned here, but beneath it was a dark layer of sin.

Smoke from spiced meats mingled with the bite of tanned leather. Anvils cracked, low fires burned, and conversation flowed through the narrow rock crevices.

The grizzled merchant wiped the mist curling around his fingers on his trousers and handed Marin and me each a small leather pouch. Tucked inside were our cloud tokens, coin-sized metal discs that promised access to the giant’s castle.

So long as you didn’t mind walking over open air.

Which I did.

Magic couldn’t be trusted. Ropes, hooks, now those were trusty allies. But neither would get us across, so I grudgingly accepted my token and tucked it into my satchel.

Marin peeked into her pouch. “You’re sure these will work?” She eyed the merchant. “Have you had any complaints?”

He shrugged and picked his teeth with his thumbnail. “Wouldn’t know. A fall like that? You don’t get back up to share your thoughts.”

“Great.” Marin cringed. “You’ve been very helpful. Can’t wait to try them out.” She looked up at me and muttered, “You’re going first.”

“We’ll flip for it.”

A faint blush stained her cheeks. “This time, I’m calling tails.”

“Cheater.” I hooked my arm over her shoulder and wheeled her away from the merchant’s stall. “Let’s go, gambler. This thief needs to buy a sword.”

“Can I get one?”

“Can you lift one?”

She hummed thoughtfully in the back of her throat. “Probably.”

“We’ll get you some darts.”

The hum turned into a snort. “That’s practical. I can launch them at you from a distance.”

“You’d have to hit me first.”

“A target your size? With my eyes closed.”

I missed this. Three years was a lifetime without her barbs. Verbal darts were her specialty. And I’d take a thousand of them to never hear that empty silence again.

The crowds thinned as we wound through the narrow rock tunnels toward the weapons vendors. Lanterns glowed like floating buoys welded into the stone, and the air grew colder, sharpening with a metallic taste.

Something flickered in the fog.

A hooded figure, head low, cut straight for Marin.

I moved, drawing her across my body and steering her in front of me, slotting myself between her and the man’s path.

He clipped my shoulder in passing, rough enough to make a point.

I met his gaze, cold and steady beneath his hood, before he melted back into the fog.

We kept walking.

Marin chuckled under her breath. “Are you worried I’ll get my pockets picked? You’re the one with the most to lose.”

“I know.” I pulled her tighter against my side, my eyes still scanning the shadows.

“So serious,” she said, nudging me lightly in the ribs. “I wasn’t always part of a crew. I’ve handled my share of unsavory men.”

I made a discontented noise in the back of my throat. “Sure, you have.”

“Don’t sound sarcastic. Remember that time I ran into you at the Druid’s temple? I’d just given a creeper the slip and made off with the vase he tried to steal from me.”

“Yup. I remember that vase. Worth a tidy sum.”

But that creeper had “accidentally” taken a wrong turn and landed face-down in a sand pit, courtesy of my boot.

“And when I left you and that motely crew of scoundrels standing on the dock while I caught the last barge, who got away with the jeweled scepter?”

“You did.”

And I’d traded a relic to have the captain take off the second her boots hit the deck, stranding me with a seething group of hunters until the next one arrived.

For three days.

Marin looked up at me, smug. “See? I'm practically a legend. You could learn a thing or two. ”

“You're a tough act to follow, Mare. But somehow, I always do.”

The tunnel opened into a wing of new stalls, some empty and abandoned, others loaded with gear and the faint gleam of weapons.

Marin ducked from under my arm and wandered toward a display of darts strewn across a wooden table. She picked one up, twirled it around her finger, then cocked her head in surprise when it made a thudding sound—like footsteps echoing in a tunnel.

“These are incredible!”

I tossed her a pouch of coins. “Go nuts.”

The swords were a few stalls over. This wasn’t a pleasure trip. Daggers and darts weren’t going to cut it. Annie’s map would get us there. One of these—I eyed the array of glinting blades—would keep us alive.

Until we had to use our cloud coins, of course, and fell tragically to our deaths.

But that was just me being a pessimist.

I adjusted a cutlass in my grip, the weight of it shifting as I tilted the blade. It was lighter than I was used to, but still carried enough steel to end a fight. Balanced and sharp. Exactly what I was looking for.

I’d been joking on the vine about Marin talking in her sleep, until last night, when I woke to her aching chant of I will not die here , whispered over and over. Her body was curled in on itself, knees pressed to her chest as if she was shielding herself.

From what? Who?

The monster might be nameless to me, but I wasn’t going to let it haunt her.

She hadn’t spoken of her time in that underwater prison. The only scraps of truth I’d gotten were from Cass, or from the night Marin had railed at me in the alcove. And I’d heard every word, but I still needed more.

We already had a villain to fight—the witch. But I felt like one too. For letting Marin end up in that place. For not knowing she was still alive.

She wasn’t going back.

If I had to cut down the giant with only this honed blade, I would.

“Cloud potions are on the house if you buy the blade,” a merchant said, gesturing to a row of bottles perched on a shelf. “Brewed fresh this morning. My version clings longer than a hangover in the sky.”

“Sounds like a headache.” I handed him payment for the cutlass and a leather sheath, then I strapped it to my back.

He passed me a small vial filled with purple liquid. “Nah, it’s the cure. This stuff works. It’ll get you out of any scrape.” He snapped his fingers. “Poof. Instant cloud.”

I gave a noncommittal grunt as the man rubbed the whiskers under his chin.

“You know, now that I have you here, you might be interested in these blades, too. Lighter than a feather in a storm…” He continued to drone on, pitching his wares.

I was going to need to use this potion on myself.

Poof. Instant escape.

I glanced toward Marin, still at the dart booth. She was throwing them at a target, missing each time. I couldn’t stop the smile from creeping in.

Guess the target wasn’t big enough.

She wasn’t skilled in battle, unless it was a battle of wits. Her aim needed work. A lot of it. But she’d keep throwing until she hit something… or ran out of my money.

Which must’ve happened quicker than she expected because she crumpled the empty pouch in her fist, and collected her darts, tucking them into her gear. She thanked the dart vendor, then craned her neck, spotting a booth lined with scythes looking fit for a grim reaper.

And now we were in trouble.

The merchant rapped his knuckles on the table to reclaim my attention.

“My friend… wait, there’s more—”

A man peeled away from the shadows, tugging up his hood as he slipped behind Marin, matching her steps. I didn’t need to see his face to remember the weight of his shoulder and the cold stare under his hood.

He was twice her size. His fingers flexed around the dagger at his belt now that she was alone.

I clenched the vial and was already moving, the merchant’s voice trailing behind me, still pleading for one more second.

The man hunched his shoulders, his hand closing over the hilt as Marin walked past an empty stall beside a deep rock crevice. Her focus was still on the scythes another twenty feet away.

Mine—was on him.

A low pulse thudded at the base of my throat. Not panic. Purpose.

His dagger flashed.

I popped the cork on the vial, purple liquid spilling beside the empty stall. The cloud surged around my feet as I dragged the man into the mist.

His face hit the rock, a sharp cry splitting the air, smothered by the thick fog. The blade slipped from his grip, landing near my boot. I kicked it away.

My dagger bit into the side of his ribs, and I pressed until he choked on his breath.

“Hey, hey, man. Relax. I wasn’t—”

The dagger slid deeper, drawing blood, a thin stream slipping off the blade and vanishing into the mist. I shoved his face harder into the stone.

“She’s yours! I get it!”

“No. You don’t.”

My head dipped, voice rasping near his ear. “That woman out there—she once told me to count the stars when I lose control.”

A dark laugh scraped from my throat. “Stars… can you imagine?”

He whimpered. Just a thin, broken sound.

“But maybe she was right about counting.” I twisted the dagger, slow and deliberate. “Touch her… and I’ll count your bones.”

I flicked the blade from his ribs and slashed it through the loop on his belt, catching the coin pouch before it hit the ground.

“The fee for looking.”

Sheathing my blade, I slipped out of the mist. It swirled around the empty stall, still growing thicker. What do you know? It did cling longer than a hangover in the sky.

Marin looked over her shoulder, completely unaware, and hefted a wicked-edge scythe off a rack.

“This one isn’t that heavy.”

I forced a grin. “Not a chance. The handle alone is taller than you.”

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “So then it doubles as a walking stick.”

“Put it back.”

Marin wrinkled her nose as she handed it to the merchant. “Next time, I’m bringing my own money.”

She folded her arms, circling me as she inspected the cutlass strapped to my back. Her narrowed gaze landed on my sleeve, where a streak of blood stained the fabric.

I stilled, the breath seized low in my chest. For one brutal second, I thought she might see past the blood and the banter. Might have realized what I’d done. What I would always do. But then she scoffed and shook her head, and the knot inside me unraveled.

“Seriously, Gavin? Did you already cut yourself on your brand-new sword?” She clucked her tongue. “We’re going to run out of Cass’s salve.”

I shrugged, my grin widening now that my secret was safe. Her world was dark enough. She didn’t need to know every danger. Not the ones I could shield her from.

I brushed at my sleeve. “Out of practice, I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve had to watch someone’s back.”

Marin huffed a breath, hands landing on her hips. “You’re not instilling a lot of confidence in me. You should let me buy that scythe.”

I tossed the coin pouch in the air and caught it in my fist. “How about lunch instead? Then we hit the road. The Fields of Futile Escape wait for no one.”

Marin groaned. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

I nodded. “More than you know.”